The Full and True Beauty

Dear Friends and Family,

They say fall is here, yet it is still warm in Texas so that it does not feel like it. I have been longing to see the brilliant colors of autumn leaves and find myself thinking of New England and Eastern Europe as both places have colorful falls and crisper air.

I was in Fredericksburg, Texas over last weekend and contented myself with the landscape and green, graceful Live Oak trees. I remember as a girl jumping in piles of brightly colored leaves. I would always gather as many different colors as I could find and press them in a book. It is still something that I do when I find myself in fall color. There is beauty everywhere when we choose to see it…looking in Fredericksburg last weekend I was graced with a silver rose bush in full bloom, a lovely fluffy cat asleep on the front porch step and the smell of newly mowed bailed hay. I enjoyed them all immensely. I will let you know when I have gathered my leaves!

Love and Blessings,
Mari

"People are a lot like stained glass windows -- the full and true beauty can only be seen when there is abundant light shining from within, and when the viewer is standing back enough to take in the whole view, the big picture, what the 'artist' actually had in mind. Up too close, with a critical eye, you see only the imperfections in the glass. Standing back, taking everything in, you see the stunning artistry of the Maker's intended message. Also, and not coincidentally, the darker the night on the outside (in the form of the world's chaos, conflicts, death, fear, and struggles), the brighter and more beautifully the windows show up."

--Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Our Inner Image

We can be so hard on ourselves regarding our self-image and surface appearance - are we beautiful enough, sexy enough, slender enough, smart enough, strong enough, successful enough? It can be exhausting, how harshly we measure ourselves, when underneath it all God made us equally precious (and yet unique) masterpieces.

This becomes most visible to others when we remember the truth of it, allowing our inner light to shine, and when the darkness of the world surrounds us, challenging us to "effulge." In the ordinary light of an ordinary day, where we often tend to go unconscious, we rarely truly see each other and often miss the point of life entirely. So, what does this naturally suggest?

Maybe it means that the key to life is "to shine forth most brightly, to radiate, or to beam" (the actual dictionary meaning of the word, "effulge"), consciously and proactively, from your depths, and to find the world's most bitter darkness that waits just for you in which to brighten and cheer things up with your own unique light and the very personal message that God gave you to share. He came here to teach us that - to let our light shine into the darkness of the world - but first we must find it, find Him, within ourselves, amidst our self-doubt and self-hate, and turn it on.
--Jim Spivey

Blessed With a Purpose

Your Life's Work

Many people are committed to professions and personal endeavors they never consciously planned to pursue. They attribute the shape of their lives to circumstance, taking on roles they feel are tolerable. Each of us, however, has been blessed with a purpose. Your life's work is the assemblage of activities that allows you to express your intelligence and creativity, lives in accordance with your values, and experience the profound joy of simply being yourself. Unlike traditional work, which may demand more of you than you are willing to give, life's work demands nothing but your intent and passion for that work.

Yet no one is born with an understanding of the scope of their purpose. If you have drifted through life, you may feel directionless. Striving to discover your life's work can help you realize your true potential and live a more authentic, driven life. To make this discovery, you must consider your interests in the present and the passions that moved you in the past. You may have felt attracted to a certain discipline or profession throughout your young life only to have steered away from your aspirations upon reaching adulthood.

Or you may be harboring an interest as of yet unexplored. Consider what calls to you and then narrow it down. If you want to work with your hands, ask yourself what work will allow you to do so. You may be able to refine your life's work within the context of your current occupations. If you want to change the world, consider whether your skills and talents lend themselves to philanthropic work. Taking stock of your strengths, passions, beliefs, and values can help you refine your search for purpose if you don't know where to begin.

Additionally, in your daily meditation, ask the universe to clarify your life's work by providing signs and be sure to pay attention. Since life's journey is one of evolution, you may need to redefine your direction on multiple occasions throughout your lifetime. For instance, being an amazing parent can be your life's work strongly for 18 years, and then perhaps you have different work to do.

Your life's work may not be something you are recognized or financially compensated for, such as parenting, a beloved hobby, or a variety of other activities typically deemed inconsequential. Your love for a pursuit, however, gives it meaning. You'll know you have discovered your life's work when you wake eager to face each day and you feel good about not only what you do but also who you are.

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Learn and Let Flow

We Don't Need To Suffer

The idea that we have to suffer or live in poverty in order to be spiritual is an old one and can be found in the belief systems of many philosophies. Most of us carry this idea around subconsciously, and we may be holding ourselves back from financial or emotional well-being, believing that this is what we must do in order to be virtuous, spiritually awake, or feel less guilty for the suffering of others. While it's true that there can be a spiritual purpose to experiencing a lack of material well-being, it is rarely intended to be a permanent or lifelong experience.

What we are meant to find when material or emotional resources are in short supply is that there is more to our lives than the physical realm. Intense relationships and material abundance can distract us from the subtler realm of the spirit, so a time of deficiency can be spiritually awakening. However, once we recognize the realm of spirit, and remember to hold it at the center of our lives, there is no reason to dwell in poverty or emotional isolation. In fact, once our connection to spirit is fully intact, we feel so compelled to share our abundance that lack becomes a thing of the past.

If you find that you are experiencing suffering in some area of your physical life, perhaps your spirit is asking you to look deeper in your search for what you want. For example, if you want money so that you can experience the feeling of security but money keeps eluding you, your spirit may be asking you to understand that security is not to be found through money. Security comes from an unshakable connection to your soul. Once you make that connection, money will probably flow more easily into your life.

If relationships elude you, your spirit may be calling you to recognize that the love you seek is not to be found in another person. And yet, ironically, once you find the love, your true love may very well appear. If you feel stuck in suffering to live a spiritual life, try to spend some time writing about it. The root of the problem will appear and it may not be what you expected. Remember, the Universe wants you to be happy.

Following the Current

Going with the Flow

The expression going with the flow is a metaphor that applies to navigating a river. When we go with the flow, we follow the current of the river rather than push against it. People who go with the flow may be interpreted as lazy or passive, but to truly go with the flow requires awareness, presence, and the ability to blend one's own energy with the prevailing energy.

Going with the flow doesn't mean we toss our oars into the water and kick back in the boat, hoping for the best. Going with the flow means we let go of our individual agenda and notice the play of energy all around us. We tap into that energy and flow with it, which gets us going where we need to go a whole lot faster than resistance will. Going with the flow doesn't mean that we don't know where we're going; it means that we are open to multiple ways of getting there. We are also open to changing our destination, clinging more to the essence of our goal than to the particulars. We acknowledge that letting go and modifying our plans is part of the process. Going with the flow means that we are aware of an energy that is larger than our small selves and we are open to working with it, not against it.

Many of us are afraid of going with the flow because we don't trust that we will get where we want to go if we do. This causes us to cling to plans that aren't working, stick to routes that are obstructed, and obsess over relationships that aren't fulfilling. When you find yourself stuck in these kinds of patterns, do yourself a favor and open to the flow of what is rather than resisting it. Trust that the big river of your life has a plan for you and let it carry you onward. Throw overboard those things that are weighing you down. Be open to revising your maps. Take a deep breath and move into the current.

Managing the Power of Choice
Carolyn Myss, Ph. D., in Anatomy of the Spirit

"Managing the power of choice, with all its creative and spiritual implications, is the essence of the human experience. All spiritual teachings are directed toward inspiring us to recognize that the power to make choices is the dynamic that converts our spiritual intent into matter, our words into flesh.

Choice, and the intention and words that naturally follow, is the process of creation itself. The fact that our choices weave our spirits into events is the reason the major spiritual traditions are formed around one essential lesson: Make your choices wisely, because each choice you make is the genesis of a creative act of spiritual power for which you will be held responsible. Further, any choice made from faith has the full power of heaven behind it - that is why 'faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain.' And any choice made from fear is a violation of the energy of faith and will result in the experience of chaos, no matter what circumstances ensue.

We are both physical beings in a spiritual body and spiritual beings in a physical body, but since the physical world cannot be controlled, the task before us is to master our inner spiritual responses to the external world - those being our thoughts and emotions. Nevertheless, we all struggle in a seemingly never-ending cycle of disappointment in which we attempt to control our lives and the lives of others. We search endlessly for the one grand choice that will put everything in our lives into permanent order, halting the natural motion of change long enough to establish final control over everyone and everything. Is that the right career move? Is this the right marriage partner? Are we in the right location? In seeking this one right choice constantly, we give form to our fear of the changing rhythm that is life itself.

In looking for this single external circumstance, community, person or thing that that will forever bring us stability, peace, love, or health, we dismiss the more authentic power that lies 'behind our eyes and not in front of them.' The truth contained within the paradoxical nature of dualism is this: It is not what or who we choose that matters; our power to influence an outcome lies in our motivation or reasons for making the choices we make.

In learning about our motivations, we learn about the content of our spirits. Are you filled with fear, or are you filled with faith? Every choice we make contains the energy of either faith or fear, and the outcome of every decision reflects to some extent that faith or fear. This dynamic of choice guarantees that we cannot run away from ourselves or our decisions. And in order to learn about our motivations - to discover our own personal 'false gods' - we need relationships.

To form a relationship, we use some of our energy or personal power. Once the relationship is formed, we may ask, often unconsciously: Is this relationship drawing power from me, or am I drawing power from it? Where do I end, and where does the other person begin? What is my power, and what is the other person's power? Am I compromising myself, in exchange for status, safety, peace, or money? While these questions are essentially healthy, in most relationships we begin thinking in terms of psychologically divisive and conflict-inducing opposites: me or you, mine or yours, good or bad, winner or loser, right or wrong, legitimate or not, rich or poor.

Symbolically, these conflicts represent most people's relationship to God: my power or yours - are you really with me here on this earth, or must I try to control and manage things myself? And even if I do believe God is maneuvering behind the scenes, how do I know what choices to make? This primary conflict in and crisis of faith is present in every one of our relationships.

Paradoxically, our challenge in managing these conflicting energies is to maintain them in the consciousness of the inherent oneness of all that is. We begin this journey by exploring the conflict within our relationships: Relationships naturally generate conflict, conflict generates choice, choice generates movement, and movement generates more conflict. We break free of this vicious cycle only by making choices that transcend dualism and the perceived divisions between ourselves and others, and between ourselves and God.

So long as we focus on trying to control another person and forget that that person is a mirror reflecting back to us our own qualities, we keep conflict alive within ourselves. Seeing ourselves and others in symbolic union, however, help us to better first accommodate and then celebrate our perceived differences."

Exploring Divinity- the Reiki Way
V.N.Mittal

As a child I would sit through the ritual of Yagya (Hom) with my father for more than an hour as a passive participant The Vedic mantras chanted in the yagya, though, appeared musical to my innocent ears, yet were of little interest to me ,then, as I would understand neither their meaning nor their significance. What kept me waiting patiently as a silent witness was the Halwa (sweets) Prasad distributed after the observance. I failed to understand as to how could one conceive and meditate on something which was formless and not perceptible.

My visits to local temples further added to my dilemma rather than connect me to the Divine. Confusing images of God would conjure up in my adolescent mind, after noticing different deities installed on the altar. The Ram Leela enacted in my small town as an annual feature erected images and lasting imprints of Ram as God , the Mahabharata of Lord Krishna , Shiva’s lingam in a local temple that of Lord Shiva and so on. I was left completely mystified.

As I grew up, my quest became stronger and stronger. I sincerely looked for answers to end my confusion, whether to worship the deities or offer my prayers to a formless God. Just in that moment of my bewilderment, I invoked Reiki to guide my path, awaken in me the Divinity and ferry me to the realm of truth. With my self awareness thus provoked and stimulated by Reiki, I was on my way to experience the unfolding of the mystery.

In my usual prayers every morning, I would sit in my backyard doing my Gassho Meditation but this one proved fateful. While I sat there meditating on Mikao Usui’s Reiki precepts – the secret Mantra for achieving happiness, my eyes fell on a mango tree and its branches shooting out from its stem in all directions like the hands of a damsel dancing with joy. As I was appreciating the beauty of the form, my mind took me beyond the form through the vacant spaces between the branches. The sight of the passing clouds on the blue sky sent a thrill into me when I found surreal shapes rising out of the clouds and dismantling into formless again. And yet, the bizarre forms seemed to gather light in the dark dim centre of my mind to appear as real, full of life and blood, I could feel His presence emerging from formless to form and melting into formless again.


Shapes after shapes in all things that He has sculpted flashed upon my inward eye. Did God conceive and pre design them or they just emerged as gifts of His ingenuity to the mankind? The appearance of forms and then their melting into formless motivated me so much that I picked up my chisel and a flat piece of wood lying in my garden to carve out some unknown shape. Soon, I found myself sculpting the wood not knowing or conceiving in advance what would come out of my exercise. And lo, a meaningful form started emerging as I would dig deeper and deeper. Every stroke of the chisel seemed to bare the hidden beauty of the sculpture. A form was evolving from the formless converging into Nirakar [formless] again like the melting sculptures in the drifting clouds.

The two episodes obviously motivated by Reiki, made me realize that God is formless but assumes a form that a human mind conceives of. In fact God is beyond form and could be reached either through forms or without form. It is immaterial how one approaches Him, whether through form as a crutch or without form. What is important is to get started and sincerely explore Him with devotion, without reservation of any kind. Seek the blessings of Reiki to open the doors of your soul to the realm of bliss and to experience your true Divinity.


Check it out!
A web site dedicated for children in Reiki. It is so great to see little hands at work.

http://www.reikikids.com/


And finally take a few minutes click on this link and see this beautiful message.

4 Candles

I wish you Faith Hope Love and Peace today and everyday.

Blessings, Mari

Fall Synchronicity

My Dear Friends and Family,

In Texas I can’t say that fall is in the air with temperatures of 100 plus. The only thing fall like is that my grandchildren have gone back to school. Of course when I was their age we went back to school after Labor Day and the air was certainly crisper in the North East of our country. But of course that was way back when. So there is a peace that has descended on the house during the day as the cats and I fill the space until they come home again. Stretching ahead is autumn and then winter; cycles of life to enjoy in so many various forms.

I love how synchronicity plays with me. I had been upset for not being able to do more of “The Work” and wondering just what “Life” was calling me out to do when this came to me today. It is an excerpt but certainly timely…it is about partnership and enrolling others into this beautiful dance of life.

“…as you inspire others to participate in charitable action, you cease to be an individual striving for a massive cause and become a member of a network of humanity championing for a manageable cause. You’ll see the results of your efforts immediately and take pride in your ability to recruit aides. When you ask others to become a part of your efforts today, you’ll be able to accomplish more than you believed possible.”

I have been having conversations lately with several people about self-forgiveness and that the real job is allowing that forgiveness into us. It seems that it is easy for us to forgive others, but harder to take their forgiveness in or to forgive ourselves for what we “Know” we did in the past or how we “Know” we are. I also received this reminder this morning…

"Many promising reconciliations have broken down because, while both parties came prepared to forgive, neither party came prepared to be forgiven."
-- Charles Williams

All I can say is Yes I am listening and I will do my work. Come join me in BEing the love and peace we wish to see and experience in the world!



The Wisdom Of Sharing
Stone Soup

There are many variations on the story of stone soup, but they all involve a traveler coming into a town beset by famine.

The inhabitants try to discourage the traveler from staying, fearing he wants them to give him food. They tell him in no uncertain terms that there's no food anywhere to be found. The traveler explains that he doesn't need any food and that, in fact, he was planning to make a soup to share with all of them.

The villagers watched suspiciously as he builds a fire and fills a cauldron with water. With great ceremony, he pulls a stone from a bag, dropping the stone into the pot of water. He sniffs the brew extravagantly and exclaims how delicious stone soup is. As the villagers begin to show interest, he mentions how good the soup would be with just a little cabbage in it. A villager brings out a cabbage to share. This episode repeats itself until the soup has cabbage, carrots, onions, and beets-indeed, a substantial soup that feeds everyone in the village.

This story addresses the human tendency to hoard in times of deprivation. When resources are scarce, we pull back and put all of our energy into self-preservation. We isolate ourselves and shut out others.

As the story of stone soup reveals, in doing so, we often deprive ourselves and everyone else of a feast. This metaphor plays out beyond the realm of food. We hoard ideas, love, and energy, thinking we will be richer if we keep to them to ourselves, when in truth we make the world, and ourselves, poorer whenever we greedily stockpile our reserves.

The traveler was able to see that the villagers were holding back, and he had the genius to draw them out and inspire them to give, thus creating a spread that none of them could have created alone. Are you like one of the villagers, holding back? If you come forward and share your gifts, you will inspire others to do the same. The reward is a banquet that can nourish many.


The following piece has the ring of truth.


The Choice is Ours.

With momentum building toward the election in November, I have been reflecting on “freedom,” “power,” many of the “rights” of which our forefathers spoke.

First, perhaps we need a mature, social consensus on what “freedom” and “power” really mean, not one that has been shaped by separated egos intent on using them to achieve their personal goals. What does “freedom” and “power” mean in a society that is evolving, having learned the lessons of the past and moving toward a future that is open and invites us to create something new.

We cannot project the undesirable state of affairs today onto those “in power,” which are making decisions that affect the world. This power could be better described as “force” as David Hawkins discusses in Power vs. Force. We each have god-given power waiting to be used for the good of the whole. When we, as a people, agree on a vision that serves all humankind, and merge that energy with that of others who share the vision, we have the power to make it happen. We have the freedom to choose. Will we continue to “pass the buck” or will we stand up and “be the change we wish to see in the world?”

We are at a critical crossroads. We are witnessing the breakdown in all the systems we have taken for granted in our love affair with acquisition and extravagant consumption of the world’s goods, which belong to all inhabitants. That which served us in the past is no longer working – its time has passed. We are invited to confront our feelings of fear and impotence, to discover who we really are and to discover those others who are ready to write a new script for the human family. Claiming, or reclaiming, our own power can produce results beyond anything we might imagine. We are limited only by our imagination. All that we take for granted today was once only a figment of someone’s imagination.

The media has a responsible role in our re-education. We cannot continue to allow the old script and trying to “fix” it, to drain us of energy that is waiting to be freed to give birth to the new vision that is rising. Around the world some amazing shifts are taking place (see www.evolve.org), which are rarely reported by the media. We need more of the “good news” to encourage, inspire and validate what is rising within the hearts and minds of those who are awakening, an awakening that would move us from adolescence to adulthood as a species.

The time is now and we are the ones. If not us, who? “Because we have the means and the opportunity to achieve an evolutionary bounce [rather than an evolutionary crash] being alive at this time confers on us a unique opportunity…. We are the leaders we have been waiting for…. We can get there together…. There is promise ahead.” (Promise Ahead; A Vision of Hope and Action for Humanity’s Future, Duane Elgin)

We are both the cause and the cure for what is happening in our world today. We have the power and the potential to change things. The choice is ours.

From the SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE - 8.4.06
By Kelley Kelsey kelleykelsey@sbcglobal.net

Week Three Usui Retreat- Detachment

Detachment

Jim Spivey is a coach and trainer here in Houston that sends out daily e-mail thoughts. Often I find that what he is writing about will dovetail with issues I am going through at that moment in my life. Our demands and expectations, I.E. attachments give cause to so much unhappiness in our lives that I have decided to use this as the final weeks focus in this our 10th anniversary of the Usui Virtual Retreat. Jim’s contact information is at the end of this letter.

Note: It will be helpful to have a journal and a pen ready to use after the meditation. It is also great if you can have someone read the meditation to you or that you prerecord it and play it back for yourself. When I first did this meditation I wrote down in my journal what I knew I was attached to and wanted clarification about.

But first some wise words on the subject of Attachment that Jim had shared...

"If you look carefully you will see that there is one thing and only one thing that cause unhappiness. The name of that thing is attachment. What is an attachment? It is an emotional state of desperate clinging caused by the belief that without some particular thing or some person you cannot be happy."

Anthony de Mello

"The fear of loss is a path to the dark side. … Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is. Train yourself to let go of everything and everyone you fear to lose. And yet, still love and give of yourself...”

Yoda, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith

"Whenever you start to mention detachment, there is the severe risk of being misunderstood. More than that, it is a concept that takes living with and studying a long, long time before it clarifies. My present understanding is clouded by the fact that as much as I would like to lay claim to it, I am mostly anything but detached. ...Many seem to think that detachment basically means deprivation. ... For many, the Lenten practice of 'giving something up' serves as a useful penance and reminder of the sacrifice made for us. However, if most are like me, a great deal of thought is lavished on what is given up. That is, we feel the occasional craving for chocolate, or cigarettes, or whatever it is that we have given up, feeling the strong need we have for these enjoyments. We resist giving in, but have the promise that in another couple of weeks we can be back to normal.

While giving things up is training and strengthening the will in what detachment is about, it isn't detachment. And it has occurred to me that detachment is never an end in itself and it is a goal that is achieved only by means other than seeking it. ...

...detachment boils down to a right ordering of loves. ...

I am thinking more about it, and detachment may also be a training in the right ordering of thoughts and of ourselves in the universe. Detachment teaches us that what is 'ours' is really not ours and is only lent to us as we need it. Even 'my child' is 'the child who, through the grace of Creator, I hold in trust.'

Detachment teaches us to look through the surface of things and see behind them to the true wonder of the fact that they exist at all, all sustained by Creator’s gentle breath and will. ... I rejoice in the rose not for the rose but for what the rose whispers about who made her. I rejoice in the moment, because Creator is with me and within me, sustaining me and helping me see. That is detachment -- learning to love as Creator loves and because I abandon the need to own what I love, I can let it be what it truly is in Him, with no attachment."

Steven Riddle


Meditation on Attachments and Detachment
Using the Awareness of Your Breath

Sit or lay in a comfortable position. Have your journal and pen nearby so that it is easy to reach once you have finished. It is important that you do not fall asleep, but that you are relaxed. Have the intention in this meditative experience to come into a deeper and meaningful relationship with your attachments and becoming detached.

Close your eyes and begin to take deep, slow breaths. Inhale for a count of seven, hold your breath for a count of three, and then exhale for a count of seven. Do not force air from your lungs; allow it to gently leave you. Each in breath brings you to a deeper state of relaxation, each time to exhale you are letting go of all cares, thoughts, and concerns. In this space of time allow your body and mind to fully relax, your energy to expand knowing that you are perfectly safe…supported…and peaceful. If you hear any noise, it will not disturb you. In fact, it will help you to intensify this experience.

Anytime you feel yourself slipping from this state of relaxation, just take a slow, deep, inhaling breath and as you release it, mentally repeat the word “relax” and you will move back into a deep, abiding state of perfect peace.

Whatever thoughts you might have, allow them to drift past you as your mind empties of its chatter and relaxes even more. Do not resist anything. Acknowledge it and release it, allowing it to float away as you move into a deeper, more peaceful state of being…Nothing outside of how you feel right this moment even exists. You are at the deepest, most relaxed state of body and mind that you have ever experienced. You are totally relaxed… your heart rate, blood pressure, and number of breaths have been reduced significantly, leaving your body in a very relaxed state of perfect health and harmony.

Your breath is your lifeline to your physical body and connection to Spirit. Begin to visualize your breath coming in the top of your head and then out of your heart. Do this several times until it feels natural. Then breathe in through the middle of your forehead, which is called your Third Eye, bringing your breath down through your heart and out of the palms of your hands until this pattern feels natural.

Now breathe through the bottoms of both feet, allowing this breath of life to course through every cell in your entire body and out the top of your head. Take note of how you feel. Notice what you are feeling and what thoughts and emotions are coming up for you as you continue to breathe in this pattern.

Shift your attention from your breath and allow yourself to fully experience that you are traveling on a path that is loving and comfortable… Allow yourself to be fully aware of all your senses as you continue your journey… What do you see? Feel the weather on your face as you are walking. Do you feel a slight breeze, the warmth of the sun; what are you feeling and smelling as you continue your journey? Take in all the information about your journey, what all your senses see, feel, touch, and taste.

Ahead you see a door. Notice where it is and what it looks like, what it is made of. As you walk towards the door, you may feel as if this door is familiar, as if you have been here before. You feel perfectly safe and relaxed. How large is the door? Describe the door in your mind’s eye…Is it open or closed? Touch it. What does the door feel like? You know in all your being that the meaning the word you have chosen and how it applies in your life of will be clearer for you once you choose to see what is on the other side of the door. In order to do this, the door must be open and you must step through. Are you ready? Open to your highest and greatest good and step through….allow your mind’s eye to focus as you look around. What do you see? Is there someone there for you? … Feel yourself in the presence of a Being of Light and Love. In your mind’s eye there is someone stepping forward to guide you through your time here. You are open to this experience. Remember in detail how he or she is dressed and anything else that might help you to recognize them in the future.

Your guide motions you to follow and takes you into a space in a clearing. Many other beings are there emanating a great sense of peace and love that you intimately remember. They have taken their place with you to assist you with quick and easy processing of your question about attachments and becoming detached. You tell them that you are questioning about what you are attached to and why and how to become detached; ask them for guidance. They encircle you radiating loving energy to you and ask that you understand about loving and showing love in every aspect of your mind, body and spirit. You look at each aspect of your thoughts and experience thus far, accepting, loving, healing and integrating all of this “knowing” into you. You have some time in silence to experience this work (allow about two minutes to pass) When the process is complete, thank all who are there for the assistance they have given you. Now take a deep, cleansing breath and exhale …you will find yourself back at the doorway. Your guide is no longer there; however, you know that you can come back here at any time. You remember everything. You are expanded, full of wisdom, and ready to return and write in your journal about your experience.

Take a deep breathe and allow yourself to feel where you are sitting or lying. Feel your connection to this space and how your body feels in the present. Keeping your eyes closed, stretch your body slowly, then move your toes, fingers, and stretch out your arms and legs. When you are ready, slowly open your eyes. Immediately pick up your pen and begin to write in your journal while it is all fresh in your mind.

Honor yourself for your work…Being detached from others and out comes gives so much freedom to love and certainly opens the door to so much possibility. I appreciate the time you have taken these three weeks to work through the meditations, send energy to Mother Earth and be with yourself. As we know it is so important to take time to reconnect to our source and clear the space for more light to be there. I hope to see you in the near future. The next 21-day Virtual Usui retreat starts on December 21st

I am leaving you with a few more thoughts:

"Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, regardless of the surface appearance of their circumstances, and the total delight in the recognition."
-- Alexander Smith

"There is a story about a rich father who takes his son on a trip to the countryside to show him how poor some people are. They find and spend time with one particular family in their very simple home. The child is quiet through the whole trip and visit. On their way home, the father asks his son what he learned from it all, to which his son responds: 'Dad, I saw that we have one dog, and they have seven. We have a nice swimming pool in the back yard, but they have a really cool creek running behind their house, with fish and frogs and rocks and flowers. We have many fancy lights and colorful lanterns all around our property, but they can see countless stars at night. We have high walls for protection, but they have lots of good friends all around to look after them. Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”
Fr. Jerry Orbos


Love and Blessings,
Mari

Jim SpiveyRevolution Consulting2219 McDuffieHouston, TX 77019(713) 854-4848www.revolutionconsulting.com

"helping people come ALIVE, and thrive,in their personal and business relationships"

If you would like to listen to an interview with Mari with Bronwen Stein in Australia follow this link: http://www.reiki.net.au/copy.asp?id=PodcastMariH

Week Two Usui Retreat- Changing is Easy-Sustaining change is Hard

Note: It will be helpful to have a journal and a pen ready to use after the meditation. It is also great if you can have someone read the meditation to you or that you prerecord it and play it back for yourself. When I did first did this meditation I also wrote down in my journal what points I wanted to include when I redefined my dream while still remaining open to what life slotted in.


Changing is easy. Sustaining change is hard.

Remember how few New Year's resolutions you have actually kept. Now think of 'change initiatives' in the business world. Change has become a way of life at work. Yet, for many of us somehow, the changes never seemed to really matter or last.

Could it be that expectations are part of the problem? We know most people live either in the past or in the future, hoping to dodge the responsibilities, opportunities, limits, and demands of the present moment.

I would like you to think of the handful of people you may know who had been through real change. Not a small adjustment that might have felt big at the time, but the real thing - dramatic, life-changing, to-the-core stuff. Probably in every case that you can think of, the person affected had grown significantly, especially in wisdom, tolerance, relational maturity, impact, and overall life effectiveness.

Constructive, real change made people BOTH stronger AND more loving. It helped them become better, healthier, more relational human beings. They moved forward in life with more confidence, peace, and a profound sense of purpose.

Perhaps it is time to redefine your dream. Not of what you'll do ...but of who you'll become.Remembered that famous question from your childhood: what are you going to be when you grow up? No one ever asked us who we would be when we grew up.

As an adult, the first question strangers usually asked us was, what do you do? I wondered why. Maybe it has to do with the need for visible success, and how we define it. This makes sense because almost everyone in business defines success by the balance sheet.Success is neither good nor bad. Success is neutral. How we define it leads us to goodness or deceit.

If the what precedes the who, we will more likely connect to a misguided personal meaning of success. Most often, it'll be tied to position and money.Don't misunderstand, there's nothing wrong with money or position. It's just a question of whether they are our means or our end. If they become our desired end, we will have most likely developed a subtle, but powerful addiction. This is not intentional; addictions are not deliberately created. But intentional or not, the results are the same. Most addictions become increasingly hard to support.

In the case of addiction to material success, we create a certain exclusive lifestyle within a certain exclusive community. If going up is seen as success, I can guarantee you that going down is seen and felt as a painful failure. We begin to need what we want, rather than want what we need. And much like the greyhound at the dog track, we will never catch the rabbit. That is, unless we are living intentionally.

Remember, no one's doomed forever in this life when they find themselves lost in this way. But it does take extraordinary courage to change directions. Addictions are always painful to abandon. The cure itself is always a challenge, and might seem more painful than the problem, but that's an illusion which reveals itself in time when everything starts to unravel in the world of relationships. It takes a disciplined mind to give up anything. There's a tremendous resistance that we must break through to move forward.

Think of the immense energy and momentum that it takes to launch a space shuttle and the resistance it met as it tried to leave, and then reenter Earth's atmosphere.It takes a strong person to define success by who (vs. what) he or she wants to become. You may reflect on the very few people you have known who had taken this road. Perhaps you know someone who had walked away from enormous financial gain to follow their heart in other ways. I remember Dave, one of the most brilliant individuals I met, who turned down lucrative offers from top law firms to join the navy in order to use his incredible mind to serve his country.

Work is only an arena where you can bring the who to life. Where you are is not nearly as significant as who you are. Life on the surface doesn't need a lot of documentation, it is when we take the time to dive deep we discover who we are.

The concept taken from…John G. Blumberg, in Silent Alarm


Perhaps it is time to redefine your dream. Not of what you'll do ...but of who you'll become.


Meditation on redefining your dream of who you will become
Using the Awareness of Your Breath

Sit or lay in a comfortable position. Have your journal and pen nearby so that it is easy to reach once you have finished. It is important that you do not fall asleep, but that you are relaxed. Have the intention that this meditative experience will help you redefine your dream of who you will become.

Close your eyes and begin to take deep, slow breaths. Inhale for a count of seven, hold your breath for a count of three, and then exhale for a count of seven. Do not force air from your lungs; allow it to gently leave you. Each in breath brings you to a deeper state of relaxation, each time to exhale you are letting go of all cares, thoughts, and concerns. In this space of time allow your body and mind to fully relax, your energy to expand knowing that you are perfectly safe…supported…and peaceful. If you hear any noise, it will not disturb you. In fact, it will help you to intensify this experience.

Anytime you feel yourself slipping from this state of relaxation, just take a slow, deep, inhaling breath and as you release it, mentally repeat the word “relax” and you will move back into a deep, abiding state of perfect peace.

Whatever thoughts you might have, allow them to drift past you as your mind empties of its chatter and relaxes even more. Do not resist anything. Acknowledge it and release it, allowing it to float away as you move into a deeper, more peaceful state of being…Nothing outside of how you feel right this moment even exists. You are at the deepest, most relaxed state of body and mind that you have ever experienced. You are totally relaxed… your heart rate, blood pressure, and number of breaths have been reduced significantly, leaving your body in a very relaxed state of perfect health and harmony.

Your breath is your lifeline to your physical body and connection to Spirit. Begin to visualize your breath coming in the top of your head and then out of your heart. Do this several times until it feels natural. Then breathe in through the middle of your forehead, which is called your Third Eye, bringing your breath down through your heart and out of the palms of your hands until this pattern feels natural.

Now breathe through the bottoms of both feet, allowing this breath of life to course through every cell in your entire body and out the top of your head. Take note of how you feel. Notice what you are feeling and what thoughts and emotions are coming up for you as you continue to breathe in this pattern.

Shift your attention from your breath and allow yourself to fully experience that you are traveling on a path that is loving and comfortable… Allow yourself to be fully aware of all your senses as you continue your journey… What do you see? Feel the weather on your face as you are walking. Do you feel a slight breeze, the warmth of the sun; what are you feeling and smelling as you continue your journey? Take in all the information about your journey, what all your senses see, feel, touch, and taste.

Ahead you see a door. Notice where it is and what it looks like, what it is made of. As you walk towards the door, you may feel as if this door is familiar, as if you have been here before. You feel perfectly safe and relaxed. How large is the door? Describe the door in your mind’s eye…Is it open or closed? Touch it. What does the door feel like? You know in all your being that the question you have and how it applies in your life of will be clearer for you once you choose to see what is on the other side of the door. In order to do this, the door must be open and you must step through. Are you ready? Open to your highest and greatest good and step through….allow your mind’s eye to focus as you look around. What do you see? Is there someone there for you? … Feel yourself in the presence of a Being of Light and Love. In your mind’s eye there is someone stepping forward to guide you through your time here. You are open to this experience. Remember in detail how he or she is dressed and anything else that might help you to recognize them in the future.

Your guide motions you to follow and takes you into a space in a clearing. Many other beings are there emanating a great sense of peace and love that you intimately remember. They have taken their place with you to assist you with quick and easy processing of your question. You tell them that you wish their help to redefine your dream of who you will become; ask them for guidance. They encircle you radiating loving energy to you and ask that you understand about loving and showing love in every aspect of your mind, body and spirit. You look at each aspect of your thoughts and experience thus far, accepting, loving, healing and integrating all of this “knowing” into you. You have some time in silence to experience this work (allow about two minutes to pass) When the process is complete, thank all who are there for the assistance they have given you. Now take a deep, cleansing breath and exhale …you will find yourself back at the doorway. Your guide is no longer there; however, you know that you can come back here at any time. You remember everything. You are expanded, full of wisdom, and ready to return and write in your journal about your experience.

Take a deep breathe and allow yourself to feel where you are sitting or lying. Feel your connection to this space and how your body feels in the present. Keeping your eyes closed, stretch your body slowly, then move your toes, fingers, and stretch out your arms and legs. When you are ready, slowly open your eyes. Immediately pick up your pen and begin to write in your journal while it is all fresh in your mind.

Honor yourself for your work….Redefining who you will be and not what you do gives space for deeper connections and possibilities. See you here next week.

Love and Blessings,
Mari


Contact for Jim Spivey: Revolution Consulting2219 McDuffieHouston, TX 77019(713) 854-4848www.revolutionconsulting.com

"helping people come ALIVE, and thrive,in their personal and business relationships"

If you would like to listen to an interview with Mari with Bronwen Stein in Australia follow this link: http://www.reiki.net.au/copy.asp?id=PodcastMariH

Usui Retreat Week One- Relationship to Love

Welcome to the 10th Anniversay of the 21 day Virtual Usui Retreat.

As a Teacher/ practitioner of Reiki I have been asked how long should I be in the practice of Reiki before I teach. My reply is that your answer comes in time because it is a process of surrender so that when you are with your students you embody the message of Reiki. Somehow what you do touches their soul with love because you are that love and are Reiki. This morning I received this from Jim Spivey and am passing it along to you. It is another way to look at it.

Rickie Byars-Beckwith said it this way, "To have soul, you must somewhere be connected to divine presence. People who 'have soul' have a certain way of expressing themselves. What they're saying is real for them, and they have the facility, the ability to touch you with it. There's this sense that they're not trying to transmit anything to you, but transmission is taking place. They're in tune with themselves and their Creator. They have flowing rhythm in their message. They have an understanding of the way things really are, and what they're here to do about it. There is a strong heart commitment and a natural way of being, and in their way of being, there's something that is universally on point, whether they know it or not. Soulful people love with a big love, with 'THE' BIG LOVE!"


Relationship to Love

Note: For the meditations we will be doing for this 10th Anniversary Usui Retreat it may be handy to have someone read the meditation to you or that you prerecord the meditation before hand and play it to yourself, also to have a pen and journal or paper handy to write what came up for you after you have done the meditation.


Genuine relationships are God's greatest gift. Think about how many people you have been blessed to know and bring them to mind. There are so many wonderful people. Love is what matters most.

There are so many kinds of love, and most of us find we have failed to love in so many ways. Love and busyness don't mix too well. Think about the pace of life in America, do you wonder if anyone really remembered how or had time to love.

Can you think about how connected you think you are to so many people? Do you have a lot of networking contacts, but do those contacts amount to a real community of friends. Do you think other people are in similar situations?

Who do you know you love? Do your actions always show it? Do you really love others? Can you love others? Are you capable of love?I want to suggest that the answer is sometimes, if you choose. And yes.We tend to forget about many whom we ought to love. We are so busy building a network that we are forgetting to love and cherish the relationships we already have. As we work to add more and more people to our network, we undermine our ability to enjoy the people we already know.

So many people suffer from a desperate need to be interesting in the world. Celebrities want to be interesting and everyone else follows their lead, if only through the kind of attention they pay them. Everyone is trying to outdo everyone else so as not to fall behind in the race for visible success and a visible audience.Interest is the answer. But it's about being a person who is interested in others, rather than a person who is interesting.

The concept of love has been greatly misunderstood and abused by so many. We are not alone here. It's not about how busy we are, although that sounds like an excellent excuse. There are many busy people out there who love. It's about motive. Busyness is only a problem when love requires you to stop and pay attention to another and you can't, when you're too addicted to other things.

Think of all the workshops and training you have attended in your career: negotiating skills, customer service, team-building, handling tough clients, effective communications, executive development, motivating others, and more. It is strange that these workshops represented so many ideas and strategies for developing skills, but that not one instructor had ever mentioned the importance of being loving.

Perhaps the best workshops could be presented in no more than fifteen minutes. You may laugh as you imagine this scenario: 'Do you want to give incredible customer service? Love your customers. Do you want to retain your best employees? Love them. Do you want to build better relationships with tough people? Love them. Do you want to have more effective leadership teams? Love your teammates.'"

This concept has been taken from --- John G. Blumberg, in Silent Alarm


Meditation on Love and Loving
Using the Awareness of Your Breath

Sit or lay in a comfortable position. Have your journal and pen nearby so that it is easy to reach once you have finished. It is important that you do not fall asleep, but that you are relaxed. Have the intention in this meditative experience to come into a deeper and meaningful relationship with how you love and if your actions always show it or not.

Close your eyes and begin to take deep, slow breaths. Inhale for a count of seven, hold your breath for a count of three, and then exhale for a count of seven. Do not force air from your lungs; allow it to gently leave you. Each in breath brings you to a deeper state of relaxation, each time to exhale you are letting go of all cares, thoughts, and concerns. In this space of time allow your body and mind to fully relax, your energy to expand knowing that you are perfectly safe…supported…and peaceful. If you hear any noise, it will not disturb you. In fact, it will help you to intensify this experience.

Anytime you feel yourself slipping from this state of relaxation, just take a slow, deep, inhaling breath and as you release it, mentally repeat the word “relax” and you will move back into a deep, abiding state of perfect peace.

Whatever thoughts you might have, allow them to drift past you as your mind empties of its chatter and relaxes even more. Do not resist anything. Acknowledge it and release it, allowing it to float away as you move into a deeper, more peaceful state of being…Nothing outside of how you feel right this moment even exists. You are at the deepest, most relaxed state of body and mind that you have ever experienced. You are totally relaxed… your heart rate, blood pressure, and number of breaths have been reduced significantly, leaving your body in a very relaxed state of perfect health and harmony.

Your breath is your lifeline to your physical body and connection to Spirit. Begin to visualize your breath coming in the top of your head and then out of your heart. Do this several times until it feels natural. Then breathe in through the middle of your forehead, which is called your Third Eye, bringing your breath down through your heart and out of the palms of your hands until this pattern feels natural.

Now breathe through the bottoms of both feet, allowing this breath of life to course through every cell in your entire body and out the top of your head. Take note of how you feel. Notice what you are feeling and what thoughts and emotions are coming up for you as you continue to breathe in this pattern.

Shift your attention from your breath and allow yourself to fully experience that you are traveling on a path that is loving and comfortable… Allow yourself to be fully aware of all your senses as you continue your journey… What do you see? Feel the weather on your face as you are walking. Do you feel a slight breeze, the warmth of the sun; what are you feeling and smelling as you continue your journey? Take in all the information about your journey, what all your senses see, feel, touch, and taste.

Ahead you see a door. Notice where it is and what it looks like, what it is made of. As you walk towards the door, you may feel as if this door is familiar, as if you have been here before. You feel perfectly safe and relaxed. How large is the door? Describe the door in your mind’s eye…Is it open or closed? Touch it. What does the door feel like?

You know in all your being that the meaning the word you have chosen and how it applies in your life of will be clearer for you once you choose to see what is on the other side of the door. In order to do this, the door must be open and you must step through. Are you ready? Open to your highest and greatest good and step through….allow your mind’s eye to focus as you look around. What do you see? Is there someone there for you? … Feel yourself in the presence of a Being of Light and Love. In your mind’s eye there is someone stepping forward to guide you through your time here. You are open to this experience. Remember in detail how he or she is dressed and anything else that might help you to recognize them in the future.

Your guide motions you to follow and takes you into a space in a clearing. Many other beings are there emanating a great sense of peace and love that you intimately remember. They have taken their place with you to assist you with quick and easy processing of your question about loving. You tell them that you are questioning about how you love and if your actions always show it; ask them for guidance.

They encircle you radiating loving energy to you and ask that you understand about loving and showing love in every aspect of your mind, body and spirit. You look at each aspect of your thoughts and experience thus far, accepting, loving, healing and integrating all of this “knowing” into you. You have some time in silence to experience this work (allow about two minutes to pass) When the process is complete, thank all who are there for the assistance they have given you.

Now take a deep, cleansing breath and exhale …you will find yourself back at the doorway. Your guide is no longer there; however, you know that you can come back here at any time. You remember everything. You are expanded, full of wisdom, and ready to return and write in your journal about your experience.

Take a deep breathe and allow yourself to feel where you are sitting or lying. Feel your connection to this space and how your body feels in the present. Keeping your eyes closed, stretch your body slowly, then move your toes, fingers, and stretch out your arms and legs. When you are ready, slowly open your eyes. Immediately pick up your pen and begin to write in your journal while it is all fresh in your mind.

Honor yourself for your work….Loving others and yourself opens the door to so much possibility. See you here next week.

Love and Blessings,
Mari



Contact for Jim Spivey:
Revolution Consulting2219 McDuffieHouston, TX 77019(713) 854-4848www.revolutionconsulting.com

"helping people come ALIVE, and thrive,in their personal and business relationships"

If you would like to listen to an interview with Mari with Bronwen Stein in Australia follow this link: http://www.reiki.net.au/copy.asp?id=PodcastMariH

Five things I Like about Myself

Dear Friends and Family of Mari Hall and Wisechoices

The 21 day Virtual Usui Retreat will start in just 10 days from now on June 21, 2006. It is our 10th Anniversary. I do not believe that we had any idea when we started this retreat where it would take us or for how long. There have been profoundly deep moments coming together as a group that have benefited our earth and certainly all of the earth’s inhabitants. It has always been our intention that you choose the amount of time that you wish being part of the retreat. Each moment you hold the focus of love for the world is precious. If you would like refresh your mind on the purpose or practice please follow this link to the main Usui pages. http://www.wisechoices.com/usui.asp

Please invite your friends, family and support groups to join with us to celebrate Usui’s message, honor our past and look forward to the future together. People can go to the http://www.wisechoices.com/ page and look on the left side of the page for the newsletter link, fill it in to get their own notification.

I was interviewed last week by Bronwen Stein of the International House of Reiki in Australia. You can listen to the interview by following this link. http://www.reiki.net.au/copy.asp?id=PodcastMariH

To get us ready for the Retreat I have provided an exercise for us to do for this next week…after a few wise words from a lovely man and trainer here in Houston; Jim Spivey. There are some more pearls of wisdom and an invitation and then Jim's contact information following the exercise.

Note: Really take the time to do the exercise …you are worth it!

"There is overwhelming evidence in the world that we human beings do our best work and get the most, if not the impossible, done when we feel good about ourselves. When we do the right things and gain (or regain) our own forgiveness, healing, self-respect, etc., it unleashes tremendous positive energy that gets the most important things in our lives done, and done well. Doesn't it make sense to build communities and companies and families that focus their energies on each individual's effectiveness and well-being, such that great results get produced for all - customers, employees, family members, owners and society as a whole? Anything less produces less. In whatever capacities or roles we find ourselves in, let's always put and keep the things in place that let us do our best work.

When we forgive others…it sets them and us free. Remember: "Holding onto resentment of another person is like taking poison and waiting for them to die."
Jim Spivey


Listing Magnificence
Five Things I Like About Myself

Our primary relationship in life is with our selves. No one else goes through every experience in life with us. We are our one permanent companion, yet we are often our worst critic. To remind ourselves of our magnificence, we can do this exercise: "Five Things I Like About Myself."

Begin by writing down at least five things that you like about yourself. This is not the time to be modest. If you are having trouble coming up with a total of five items, you know that this exercise can really benefit you. Be sure to include more than your physical attributes on your list, since our bodies are only part of who we are. If you are still struggling with what to include on your list, think of what you like about your favorite people, because these traits are probably qualities that you possess too.

Another way to complete your list is to think of five things you don't like about yourself and find something about these traits that you can like. Continue this process for a week, thinking of five new things you like about yourself everyday. At the end of the week, read the list aloud to you while standing in front of a mirror.

Instead of looking for flaws to fix, allow the mirror to reflect your magnificence. You may feel silly about standing in front of a mirror and reading aloud a list of your admirable attributes, but it might just bring a smile to your face and change the way you see yourself. Remember, it is when you feel the most resistant that this exercise can benefit you the most.

Because we are constantly looking at the world, instead of looking at ourselves, we don't often see what's magnificent about ourselves that others do. When we take the time to experience ourselves the way we would experience someone we love and admire, we become our best companion and supporter on life's journey.


Power In Numbers
Sending Our Collective Light To The World

Like tiny ripples that merge to form great waves, combined human intent is worth more than the sum of its parts. A single individual can initiate worldwide improvement by emitting conscious frequencies of love, beauty, goodness, and wisdom. A group of people focusing their energy on sending out light to the world can set the stage for positive global transformation.

All of us possess the ability to channel love energy, to heal, to be a conduit for white light, and to positively influence our fellow humans from afar. Yet one person can only do so much. Imagine if each one of us took a few moments at the start of each day to send out light to the world from our hearts. Mother Earth would be quickly eased and the planet, as well as every organism and being on it, would be bathed in loving light. The world would be an infinitely beautiful place.

You can help bring about an earth where love triumphs over violence, air and water are nourishing in their purity, and people take pleasure in simply being alive. Alone, the light you emit is a wonderful healing tool, but when you join with others who share your intent to shine compassion and positive energy over the world, a powerful force is created. Your collective consciousness and collective light will wash over the planet, enveloping people, communities, cities, countries, and continents.

Inviting others to send light with you can be a daunting task. People may question the benefits of sending light to an already broken world. You will likely need to explain that each person's light joins with every other, and through the joining all are strengthened. Assure them that what matters is not technique or what religion or beliefs you hold but intent. As more people come in mindfulness to send their collective light to the world, the power of their planetary gift will increase exponentially.

You may already be affiliated with groups that would gladly participate in such a noble project. Children, who often feel incapable of influencing their world yet are reservoirs of innate power are usually enthusiastic about sharing their collective light. As you gather together willing people, your individual intent will become a great and powerful wave, and you will see results in your fellow humans, in the news, and in your daily life.

Note: This is what we are doing in the Reiki Retreat, coming together and sending LIGHT, LOVE and REIKI (it is all the same)


Attitude

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today."

So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "H-M-M," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today."

So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail."

So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YEAH!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!

Attitude is everything.


Reiki for Africa- an Invitation

What is invisible, weighs nothing, can only be used for good and lasts a lifetime? Reiki, you all reply. Of all the foreign aid we send around the world, can you think of one that requires no technology, no start-up funds and can be mastered in days even by children? Again the answer is Reiki. Reiki often is the answer.

When we hear about the HIV/AIDS devastation in Africa good-hearted people want to do more. Apart from giving our pennies and urging national politicians and the U.N. to send drugs and food there is something profoundly important we can contribute: Reiki! Many are sending distant healing. But we can also, literally, get Reiki into the hands of the people who need it most.

You ask how; by sending them Reiki Master-Teachers of course. Who trains these teachers? We do.

Where do you find these adventurous souls? Start by asking around, ”Do you know of anyone who is going to Africa?" A surprising number of folks are headed to there these days, many to lend a hand with the crisis. Some of them will respond to the message ”There's something I want to send to Africa. It's beneficial and won't take up any room in your suitcase." The first person I approached replied "I don't believe in that (meaning Reiki)." Yet she also found my first (enthusiastic) student who recently went off to her new job with full Reiki training and all the teaching materials copied onto a few CDs.

Brainstorm with your Reiki family; ask each of them to spread the word to their personal contacts all the organizations they belong to--churches, service clubs and the like. Your own family, coworkers and neighbors can help extend your reach. As well, universities have associations of foreign students that could put you in touch with overseas students in education, community planning or public health who could see the potential of a free gift of Reiki for their people back home.

Hand out self-printed cards with your contact information. Ask to include a notice in your church bulletin, office or club newsletter. Talk up the idea, even with strangers at the bus stop. There are only six degrees of separation from the person you are looking, as the saying goes.

True, not everybody is a Master-Teacher. But what if your Reiki share group were to offer treatments for donations so that together you could train a Master who would do pro bono work? There is no stopping a good idea.

If you are so fired up by this idea that you decide to go to Africa yourself there are a few extra words of advice. Experienced aid workers all say don’t leave home until solid arrangements are in place with a clear written understanding of expectations on both sides. So in addition to the recommendations from your travel agent and guide book, you will need a local host with connections to 'back home'. This could be the counterpart of your faith group, service club or an agency or development project that you support already established in-country. Their knowledge of your cultural assumptions, of local conditions, plus the practical advice and contacts they can offer, will make all the difference between success and failure.

If the above suggestions are more than you can do right now, would you just keep the thought spreading? Eventually it will come to the right person. As Reiki so often reminds us, we are each an important link in the chain of humanity.

In Love and Friendship,

Marlene Jones,
Victoria, BC


Contact for Jim Spivey
Jim SpiveyRevolution Consulting
2219 McDuffie
Houston, TX 77019
(713) 854-4848
www.revolutionconsulting.com

Friends on the Journey

"Rather than looking at people as sex objects or work tools, we can see them as sacred. We can enter the Holiest of Holies through their eyes. Rather than seeing them as an 'it,' they can become a 'Thou.'"
Jim Spivey

Hello Dear Friends and Family of Mari Hall and Wisechoices

It is June already and the children are out of school. Gracious where has the time gone?
On the 21st of this month we mark our 10th Anniversary bringing you the 21 day Usui Virtual Retreat and in honor of this occasion I have written the three meditations we will be using. I will send out the Usui Retreat notices closer to the 21st. For information about the focus of the meditation and practice suggestions you can follow this link to our Usui Retreat pages, http://www.wisechoices.com/usui.asp…Please ask your friends and family to join you. It is fine to spend a few minutes a day or a week, what ever your schedule will allow. I always look forward to this time to get quiet and focus.

I am hoping a little later in the month to have a special surprise to share with you. I have my fingers crossed at this point! Stay Tuned please.

This month has been a mixture of welcoming new babies into the family and of saying goodbye to dear friends who have transitioned. Tears of joy and sadness have been shed. Death and birth…the never ending cycle of life and on many levels. One thing for sure we are brave spirits and friends on the journey of life and I am so glad to be walking this path with you.

Here are some lovely articles for you, evoking, uplifting and provocative...which one will resonate with you? Enjoy them!

Love and Blessings,
Mari


The Path of Archery
Paulo Coelho

The importance of repeating the same thing

An action is a thought that manifests itself; a small gesture denounces us, so we have to make everything perfect, think about the details, and learn the technique so that it becomes intuitive. Intuition has nothing to do with routine but rather with a state of spirit that lies beyond technique.

So, after practicing a lot, we no longer think about all the necessary movements: they become part of our very existence. But for this to happen, you have to train and repeat.

And as if that were not enough, you have to repeat and train. Watch a good blacksmith working the steel. To the untrained eye he is repeating the same hammer blows over and over again.
But those who know the importance of training know that each time the hammer is raised and then lowered, the intensity of the blow is different. The hand repeats the same gesture but as it approaches the iron it knows whether to touch it harder or softer.

Look at the windmill. Whoever sees its vanes just once imagines that it always turns with the same speed, always repeating the same movement. But those who know windmills know that they are conditioned to the wind and change their direction whenever necessary.

The hand of the ironsmith was trained after the gesture of hammering was repeated thousands of times. Windmill vanes can move fast after the wind has blown a lot and polished their gears. The archer lets many an arrow pass far from the target because he knows that he will only learn the importance of the bow, posture, the string and the target after he repeats his gestures thousands of times without being afraid of making a mistake; until he reaches the moment when he no longer needs to think about what he doing. From then on the archer becomes his bow, his arrow and his target.

How to observe the flight of the arrow

The arrow is intention projected into space. Once it is fired, there is nothing left for the archer to do except accompany its path towards the target. From that moment on, the tension necessary for the shot has no more reason to exist.

The archer therefore keeps his eyes fixed on the flight of the arrow, but his heart is at rest and he smiles.

At that moment, if he has trained enough, if he has managed to develop his instinct, if he has maintained his elegance and concentration throughout the whole process of the shot, then he will feel the presence of the universe and he will see that his action was fair and deserved.

Technique makes both hands always ready, breathing always precise, eyes able to fix on the target. Instinct makes the moment of the shot perfect.

Whoever passes by and sees the archer with his arms open and his eyes following the arrow will fancy that he is stopped. But the allies know that the mind of the one who fired the arrow has changed dimension and is now in contact with the entire universe: the mind goes on working, learning everything of a positive nature that the shot has brought, correcting any mistakes, accepting his qualities, and waiting to see how the target reacts when it is struck.

When the archer stretches the string, he can see the whole world inside his bow. When he accompanies the flight of the arrow, this world comes close to him, caresses him and makes him relish the perfect sensation of having fulfilled his duty.

A Warrior of Light, after fulfilling his duty and transforming his intention into gesture, need fear no more: he has done what he had to do. He has not allowed himself to be petrified by fear, for even if the arrow fails to reach its target, he will have another opportunity, because he has not been a coward.

Sure Shots

From a mother to her daughter

In the whole wide world there is no-one like me. I am the owner of my body, my thoughts and my ideas. The images that my eyes contemplate belong to me and I need to know how to choose them. I possess my own fantasies, my dreams, hopes and fears. Since I am owner of myself, I have to know myself intimately. There are aspects of myself that confound me, others that I do not know. But whether or not you agree with all that I am, this is authentic, this represents the moment that I am living.

From an Anglican bishop in the year 1100

When I was young and free, I dreamed of changing the world. In maturity I discovered that the world would not change, so I decided to change my country. After some effort I ended up understanding that this too was impossible. At the end of my years I tried to change my family but they went on being the same as they were before.

Now on my death bed I discover that my mission was to change myself. If I had done that, I would have been able to change my family. Then, with a little luck, that change would affect my country, and then – who knows – the whole wide world.

Midrach Rabba on Ecclesiastes

When men come into the world, their hands are always closed as if they wanted to say: the whole world is mine and I am going to hold on to it.
When men leave the world, their hands are always open as if they wanted to say: I have nothing in my power, all that I can take are my memories, and all that I can leave are my examples.

Kahlil Gibran to Mary Haskell

We are both trying to touch the limits of our existence. The great poets of the past always surrendered themselves to Life. They were not looking for some determined thing, nor were they trying to unravel secrets: they simply let their souls be overwhelmed by emotions. People are always seeking security, and sometimes they manage to achieve it: but security is an end in itself, and Life has no end. Poets are not those who write poetry, but all those whose heart is filled with the sacred spirit of Love.

Epictetus to his disciples

Two things can happen when we meet someone: either we become friends, or we try to convince the other person to accept our convictions. The same happens when the ember meets another piece of coal: either it shares its fire with it, or it is suffocated by its size and ends up extinguished.

As we are generally insecure at a first contact, we try indifference, arrogance or excessive humility. The result is that we stop being who we are and things start heading towards a strange world that does not belong to us.

Kandinsky on painting

Painting is an art. And art is a power that should be aimed at developing the soul. If art does not do this job, the abyss that separates us from God is left without a bridge.
The artist owes his talent to God and has to settle this debt. To do this, he has to work hard, know that he is free in his art but not in his commitment to life. Everything he feels and thinks is part of the raw material with which to improve the spiritual atmosphere around him.
Beauty, whether in art or in a woman, cannot be empty; it has to be at the service of men and the world.



The Truth of Interdependence
Connection

Picking a leaf off the ground and contemplating it as an object in and of itself is very inspiring. Its shape and color, the way it feels in your hand, its delicate veins and the stem that once held it fast to the branch of a tree-all of these qualities reveal a leaf to be a miniature work of natural art. As we contemplate this small object more deeply and consider where it came from and what purpose it has served, we find that the leaf is one small but essential part of a system that harnesses the energy of the sun, plumbs the depths of the earth, and in the process brings into being the oxygen many living things rely on to live.

A leaf transforms the elements of its environment-sunlight, carbon dioxide, rain-into nourishment for its tree. This beautiful, nearly weightless, ephemeral piece of nature is a vital conduit to the branch that is a conduit to the trunk that is a conduit to the roots of the tree. The roots, in turn, draw nourishment from the earth to feed the trunk, the branches, and the leaves. The living beings that inhale the oxygen that comes from this process exhale the carbon dioxide that feeds the leaves through which the tree is fed. It is difficult to know where one cycle ends and another one begins.

One of the many gifts that nature offers us is a clear demonstration of the interdependence between all living things. The person who exhales the carbon dioxide, the clouds that produce the rain, the sun that gives light, the leaf that transforms all these things into sustenance for a tree-not one of these could survive without being part of this cycle. Each living being is dependent upon other living things for its survival. When we look at the world, we see that this is not a place where different beings survive independently of one another. Earth is home to a web of living things that are connected to each other through a spinning kaleidoscope of relationships. We need each other to survive and thrive.


Remembering Who We Are
Brave Spirits

Most of us are familiar with the idea that we are not human beings having spiritual experiences; instead, we are spiritual beings having human experiences. We hear this and even though we may experience a resounding yes in our bodies, we may not take the time to really acknowledge the truth of these statements. Integrating this idea into how we view ourselves can broaden our sense of who we are and help us appreciate ourselves as brave spirits on an important mission to learn and grow here on earth.

As spiritual beings, we are visitors in this physical realm. The fact that we came here and lost all memory of what happened to us before we were born is one of the many reasons that it takes so much courage for a soul to incarnate on earth. This is why spiritual inquiry so often feels like a remembering-because it is. Remembering that we are spiritual beings is part of the work that we are here on earth to do. When we operate from a place of remembering, we tap into the wisdom that our spirit accumulated even before we stepped into this lifetime. Remembering who we are can give us the patience to persevere when we become overwhelmed or frustrated. It can give us the courage to work through the most daunting challenges and help us trust the ancient wisdom we carry that is offered to us by our intuition.

We have chosen to be on earth because there is something we want to learn that can only happen by inhabiting a body. Some of us are here to repay a debt, learn about love, or teach forgiveness. Most of us are here for a combination of reasons, we carry this information in our souls, and all we have to do is remember. As you go through your journey, try not to forget how brave you are, being here now. Honor yourself.